'Toughest pre-season of my career'

We catch up with Leon Clarke as he looks to get fit for the start of pre-season...

With the majority of footballers currently enjoying their summer holidays, Coventry City striker Leon Clarke was putting in the hard work to ensure he is ready for the 2013/14 season.

The 29-year old enjoyed a successful year with both Scunthorpe and the Sky Blues, notching 21 league goals in the 2012/13 season.

Unfortunately, due to an ankle injury, Clarke missed the last nine games of the season but the City forward is currently putting in the work with an anti-gravity treadmill at Coventry University to recover in time for the start of pre-season.

The former Charlton Athletic man believes it will be one of the toughest pre-seasons he has ever had in his career as manager Steven Pressley looks to assemble one of the fittest squads in League One.

Clarke said: “The injury is recovering well really as the work I am putting in at the moment is really helping me get up to full fitness.

“The treadmill is really helpful as it allows me to exercise without putting too much weight through my ankle. We are gradually building up to putting more weight on the ankle which really suits the recovery process for my injury.

“The manager has said he wants a really fit squad so we all have to come back fit and ready to go. The whole squad needs to make sure they are ready to attack next season.

“I think it will be one of the hardest pre-seasons, probably one of the toughest of my entire career.”

With the League One and League Two play-off finals this weekend, we are beginning to get a clearer picture of the teams Coventry will be facing next season.

Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been relegated from the Championship and Clarke believes the quality of the league will increase next season.

He added: “I think next season is going to be like the 2011/12 season in League One when Charlton Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United were all fighting for promotion.

“It will be good to go to Wolves and Bristol because you want to be playing against big teams so I am sure they will be a good occasion.

“I know we are going to take a lot of fans to those places so it will be really nice and even better when we get a result at those places.”